Blue and Gold Illustrated

On the field, Notre Dame spent the offseason emphasizing its goal of im- proving a lackluster pass rush from 2014. With new position coach Keith Gilmore, the staff and the personnel have focused on improving from 2.0 sacks per game last year, which ranked 72nd nationally. Through the first four games, the Irish were still at 2.0 sacks per contest. "It's crazy how much [Gilmore] changed us and improved our game," Day said. "We definitely saw a lot of improvement from our first year to this year. … As a defensive lineman, we want to have at least four sacks a game amongst the D-line group." Day registered two sacks and four tackles for loss during September and amassed nine quarterback hurries, eas- ily the most on the team during that span. Day and his defensive line team- mates insist that hurries aren't good enough. "I'm not trying to be an almost guy," Day said after the 38-3 win over Texas in which he notched one sack and four hurries. "I definitely left some sacks out on the table, and [I'm] working on fix- ing my footwork to make sure that I'm not diving to where the quarterback was. "I'm all about evaluating myself with my finishing ability. So I would defi- nitely say I didn't grade out that well personally." In two of the past four Januarys, Day faced an important life decision. In 2015, he passed up a likely multi- million dollar payday from the NFL to return to Notre Dame to chase a na- tional championship and improve his draft stock. In 2012, Day arrived at Notre Dame as an early enrollee, a decision that helped him reach the field as a fresh- man for the nation's top-ranked scor- ing defense during the regular season that fall. But family reasons nearly kept him home in Indianapolis for one more semester. His niece, DeLayiah, was born dur- ing his first semester at Notre Dame, an experience he did not want to miss. Despite the distance, he has maintained a close relationship during most of the year with his niece, who made it to South Bend for the 62-27 Irish win over UMass Sept. 26. "My niece is my joy," Day said. "Ev- ery time I can make her smile, it just brings me so much joy. "There's so much where she takes me away from football and takes ev- erything away and it's all about her, and just seeing her smile, and seeing her run around and laugh and play is something special." Day's presence extends from mo- ments with his niece to women's in- terhall football to an Irish program steeped with expectations, all of which rely on the senior captain. ✦ "HIS PLAY HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD, BUT WHAT I'VE BEEN MOST PLEASED WITH IS THE WAY HE'S PRACTICED. HE SETS A STANDARD FOR PRACTICE AND I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF HIM." HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON DAY

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